A Team Skull Grunt (Japanese: スカルだんのしたっぱTeam Skull Underling) is a type of Pokémon Trainer introduced in Generation VII. They are members of Team Skull who are dressed in punk attire, called Skull Tanks, and wear bandannas with a skull motif. New members are responsible for purchasing their own uniforms. The Grunts keep their Pokémon in Nest Balls.

In the manga

In the movie adaptations

Pokémon

100-Pokémon Army

Team Skull was shown to have multiple Krookodile, Sableye, AlolanExeggutor, Alolan Raticate, Sneasel, and Trevenant as they dubbed their 100-Pokémon Army. They sent them out to take on Marshadow after it went inside their headquarters. Despite being outnumbered, they were defeated by Marshadow but this ended up weakening Marshadow.

In the Pokémon Adventures manga

Team Skull Grunts made their debut appearance in the Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon chapter. A male Grunt titled Grunt A (Japanese: したっぱＡUnderling A) and an unnamed female Grunt hired Sun to remove wild Pyukumuku from a beach Team Skull considered their territory as a part-time job. Just as Sun finished the job, the Grunts returned to give him his pay, only to notice that a single Pyukumuku was not thrown away. Since the job meant that all Pyukumuku must be removed, Grunt A refused to pay Sun. The Grunts' ruse was foiled when Moon noticed the female Grunt dropping the last Pyukumuku when no one was looking. Angered, Grunt A had his Salandit attack Moon and then proceeded to act like the attack broke Salandit's tail, which meant that Sun would have to work for free to pay off its medical bills. Angered, Sun sent out his Dollar to attack the Grunts, forcing them to run away.

The Grunts report their loss to Guzma, who scolds them for losing to a child. He tells the Grunts to find Sun so that he may teach him a lesson personally.

Later, the two Grunts travel to Iki Town to take place in a festival. There, they encounter Sun again, but Grunt A decides to battle Sun without informing Guzma. The battle is interrupted by Hala, who tells Sun and Grunt A that their fight must be done during the festival's tournament. Later, Grunt A takes place in the tournament while the female Grunt runs a Slowpoke Tail stand. As the Grunts watch the other competitors battle each other, they are approached by Guzma, who demanded to know why he wasn't informed that Sun was Iki Town. After knocking Grunt A unconscious and claiming that he was injured in an accident, Guzma proceeds to take the Grunt's place in the festival's tournament.

Despite being attacked by his boss, Grunt A chose to cheer Guzma on in his battle against Sun. After the battle ends in Sun's victory, Guzma flies into a rage and begins injuring himself, forcing Grunt A to stop him. Afterward, the Grunts and Guzma decide to leave despite Olivia's objections.

When Sun and Moon left Melemele Island with Professor Kukui, the Grunts attacked Professor Kukui's Rowlet, who was at the Hau'oli Marina to see the three off. By firing a Salac Berry into its mouth, Moon increased Rowlet's Speed, allowing it to quickly fly away and escape.

After learning that Kiawe was attacked by someone near the Ruins of Life, Sun and his friends traveled to Memorial Hill to help their friend. There, another group of Grunts ambush the group and claim they were culprits who assaulted Kiawe. Angered by this, Lana and Mallow send out their Pokémon to battle the Grunts and tell Sun and Moon to tend to Kiawe's wounds. Kiawe reveals that the Grunts weren't the ones who defeated him and it was actually a far more powerful Trainer. Lana and Mallow eventually defeated the Grunts and had them tied to a tree.

When Gladion traveled to Po Town for the first time, he was greeted by Plumeria and a group of Team Skull Grunts. Plumeria and the Grunts were angered by Gladion's hostile attitude towards them and refused to accept him as a true member of Team Skull despite the fact that Guzma personally hired him to be an Enforcer.

Later, Po Town was invaded by five of Alola's Trial Captains and Hau. Overhearing the commotion the group made when they confronted the Grunts, Guzma revealed himself demanding to know why his base was being intruded. The Captains' group stated that they only wished to discuss something with Team Skull's Boss. Guzma accepted, but stated that they had to make it to him first. As he says this, a Pheromosa, Celesteela, and Guzzlord appear to attack the Captains' group. The three Ultra Beasts proceed to rampage, attacking anything in sight while the Grunts mocked the Captains' inability to reach Guzma. After some time, the beasts begin attacking even the Grunts, as they had no regard for friend or foe. The Grunts beg Guzma to get the beasts to stop, but Guzma states that he has no control over them and they'll just continue to destroy everything on their own.

Pokémon

Salandit (multiple)

Two Salandit were used by the Team Skull Grunts that paid Sun to clean their beach of wild Pyukumuku. Although Sun succeeded, the female Grunt secretly placed another one in order to get out of giving Sun his pay. When Moon saw through this scheme, Grunt A had his Salandit smack her with its tail and then lied that the event injured it. Angered by their lies, Sun had his Dollar defeat them, forcing the Grunts and the Salandit to run away. Several male Salandit were later seen under the ownership of some Grunts at Po Town. They are part of a reverse harem with Plumeria's Salazzle.

Pyukumuku is Grunt A's second known Pokémon. It was secretly planted by the female Grunt in order to get out paying Sun for his part-time job. The deception was pointed out by Moon, who noticed the slime left behind by Pyukumuku on the Grunt's hand. Later, when the two Grunts were apologizing to Guzma for losing to Sun, Grunt A blamed the whole ordeal on Pyukumuku, who punched him in the face in return.

In the TCG

Related cardsCards listed with a blue background are only legal to use in the current Expanded format.Cards listed with a silver background are legal to use in both the current Standard and Expanded formats.